


To Be Thankful

by NathanieloftheSky



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 04:32:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12809697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NathanieloftheSky/pseuds/NathanieloftheSky
Summary: In which Enjolras goes on a turkey hunt, Grantaire can't get a day off, and thanksgiving dinner goes on without them





	To Be Thankful

"I know you do not support celebrating thanksgiving in any way, shape or form, but I cannot believe you forgot to buy a turkey."

Enjolras placed his head in his hands and let out the longest groan. "I knooooow."

"A turkey! Of all things!" Courfeyrac continued, pacing the kitchen frantically, throwing his hands in the air dramatically--occasionally with a rag in his hand. He continued mumbling about the turkey and turned off a few burners, moved a few pots, and angrily finished icing the last tray of cookies.

"I'm sure it'll be alright," Combeferre mumbled into his cup of coffee, nearly nodding away where he sat. Courfeyrac shook his head and scowled deeper. He snagged the coffee from Combeferre before he nearly spilled it, bobbing himself awake again.

"Normally I would agree, dear, except it's the day of thanksgiving, and everyone is looking forward to the turkey. I was looking forward to the turkey!" He handed the coffee back to Combeferre.

"I'll just go to the store and buy one."

"Enjolras, I am pretty sure everywhere is out of turkey. How are you gonna get one at the last minute? Huh?" Courfeyrac slammed the bowl of mashed potatoes onto the counter.

"I don't know. I call up places. I'll, I'll ask some friends." Enjolras frowned.

"Ask some friends? Ask some friends?" Courfeyrac spun on his heels and stood inches away from Enjolras, "All of your friends are coming here. I suppose you have Jehan to ask. I mean, we did extend the invitation to their friends, but they don't celebrate thanksgiving. So, anyone who would have had a turkey are coming in three hours."

"Hey," Combeferre stood up and lazily wrapped his arms around Courfeyrac, "it'll be alright."

"You're no help either." Courfeyrac scowled and accepted the hug, melting into Combeferre.

"I help by staying out of your way. Also licking the icing. That too." Combeferre smiled, "Speaking of which, you have a little something riiiiight here." He leaned down and kissed him on the cheek a few times.

"Ugh, you are such a dork." Courfeyrac rolled his eyes between fits of laughter. "You missed a spot."

"I'm gonna give you two some privacy and hope the peas don't burn."

"Peas and thank you." Courfeyrac sent one more glare Enjolras' way before Combeferre convinced him to drop the whole thing with more kisses.

Enjolras walked through the hallway, dejected and at a loss. The phone would become his best friend in a moment.

\---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---

Grantaire sulked into the living room with one shoe on and his bright red shirt half-tucked in. He struggled to put on the other shoe and finished dressing as Eponine walked in.

"This was your day off." She crossed her arms, "They can't do this to you."

"They can and they will. It's just another Thursday anyways."

"Grantaire, it's the one day everyone gets together after..."

He patted her shoulder, "I know. A lot has changed since then."

"You're gonna have to--"

"Yeah, yeah. Work things out eventually. I know. I already got the mom speech from Combeferre and Musichetta. It'll..It'll be fine." He waved and headed out into the frigid air.

He seemed to get stuck in dead end jobs a lot. If he was a senior member, he wouldn't be here right now, but there will always be room for tragedy. The store should have been closed, but alas, twas not. Grantaire felt the gods leave the Earth as the only people in the store decided it was more of an art gallery than a grocery store. He glanced at the clock--four p.m. They would have just started a game, lunch would be over. He could almost smell Courfeyrac's homemade mashed potatoes and sugar cookies made from scratch. He could practically taste Jehan's bean dip, Musichetta's pies with a leaf-themed crust, Bahorel's stuffing, and Feuilly's sweet potatoes. He could almost hear the Joly's laugh and the way Bossuet cracked a bad joke. And if he concentrated hard enough he almost could picture the softness of Enjolras' smile, masked with an angry yet passionate expression. The Enjolras from his mind cleared his throat.

Grantaire broke out of his daydream. "Enjolras? What are you doing....here? Don't you live with Combeferre and Courfeyrac down in...?"

"Yeah, um," Enjolras shifted uncomfortably, "We ran into some problems and so uhhhhhh..."

"Go on," Grantaire raised his eyebrows.

"Turkey. Please tell me you have a large turkey." Enjolras bit his lip.

"Well, I--"

"Please, Grantaire, please. This is the last store within an hour's range that I can easily get to. I have no where else to go. Please."

"Calm down. I'll see if there is a turkey in the back."

"Thank you," Enjolras sighed and hung his head, following close behind Grantaire. He waited patiently outside while Grantaire went into the back room. Grantaire sighed heavily and began pacing the room instead of finding the turkey. He paused, took a deep breathe, and then looked over to where the last turkey sat. He picked it up and walked out of the door.

"So, I found a turkey, but I don't think it is big enough for all of you. It's more of a three person turkey."

"That'll do. If anything, that'll do. I might get the edge off with Courfeyrac."

"I'll ring you up." Grantaire brought the turkey down to the cash register while Enjolras looked everywhere else but Grantaire. "Here you go. Good luck and all."

"Sorry you had to work," Enjolras mumbled.

"Sorry you forgot the turkey." Grantaire grinned and waved him off as he left the building. The frown returned promptly on Grantaire's face as he leaned against the counter, the sound of Christmas music blasting in the background. And he was alone.

Alone for about five minutes.

Enjolras came back without the turkey, instead with a panicked look on his face.

"Back so soon?"

"My car won't start."

"I don't know what to say. I mean, I don't even have a car, so..."

"Is there someone else here?"

"Tsk, that guy won't help. You know what? I'll just go help you. I get off in twenty minutes. Can you wait until then? I can keep the turkey int he back."

Enjolras thought for a moment and then nodded. He went back for the turkey and watched Grantaire place it in the back He kept glancing at his phone and finally sighed in relief as Grantaire bid goodbye to a coworker and headed to the car (with the turkey of course).

"So what's wrong with it?" Enjolras asked nervously.

"Fuck if I know. I think you flooded it. Was anything wrong with it before?"

"Well, the emergency break was on the entire time, even though it was down, so--"

"How are you alive right now?" Grantaire shook his head and got out of the car.

"You need to get this thing towed."

"What?! Shit. I don't have change for the bus either."

Grantaire sighed, "You usually have your shit together. What happened?"

"I...well...you...you know. We all know what happened." Enjolras shook his head and looked down at his phone again, "Shit."

"What?"

"So Jehan's...friends showed up with a turkey already made. The whole lot of them. Currently, they are outside smoking with Eponine and Montparnasse. I-I mean those two aren't smoking but the other...that is besides the point. They have a very large turkey, details are sketchy, but everyone is happy. And by this rate I'm going to get home at midnight with a spoiled chicken."

"Turkey."

"Whatever!" Enjolras threw his hands up in the air and then crossed them, pouting to the sidewalk beside them.

"Do you want to have dinner with me? I mean, like, not as a date or anything fancy, but we can cook that turkey and I have canned shit. There's probably cranberries in the cabinet and--"

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better."

Grantaire shared a small smile.

\---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---

Enjolras was just having the worst run of luck. Everywhere he turned there was more and more issues. Maybe he actually switched souls with Bossuet. That had to be the only explanation as to why he was following Grantaire all the way into a sketchy apartment building with a turkey in a cooler that was far too big for the turkey.

"It's this one." Grantaire announced, fumbling in his pocket for his keys. Enjolras watched his hand trembled. He steadied it with the other hand and just barely opened the lock.

"Grantaire--"

"Grantaire! Oh! It's so good to see you!" an old woman called from her door.

"I didn't see you there. How are you?" Grantaire bent over to hug her.

"I am well! My daughters were so good to me this year! How was your dinner? Eh? Is this your boyfriend?" Before Enjolras could protest, he was wrapped into an embrace by the old woman. He glanced at Grantaire who awkwardly propped open his door.

"We didn't eat yet--bought a turkey a while ago. I just got off work too." Grantaire began to kick to cooler into his apartment.

"No, no, no. That won't do." The old woman let go of Enjolras with great horror. She quickly handed Grantaire her large paper bag and unlocked her door. The two of them shared a look as she bustled in and out, carrying a few more containers of food. She handed Enjolras the containers rather hastily.

"I expect those containers to be empty when I get them back. A minute should do for each of them, no longer."

"Madame, you really don't have to do this--"

"Your boyfriend is thin enough! You both need to eat well and grow big and strong. Think of it as payment for painting my apartment last week." The woman huffed.

"If-if you insist." Grantaire shared another look with Enjolras.

Enjolras felt his face grow red, "Thank you, Madame, we will not let this food go to waste. You are very generous. I cannot thank you enough." He bowed his head a little and headed into the apartment, carefully finding spots to place the containers on the table. He stood there awkwardly, occasionally wiping his.

"Such a sweet boy. He is a very nice change and will do you good. I am so proud of you, accomplishing so much this year. Last year was such a wreck and I didn't think you would ever qu--"

"Madame, Madame, you have been so very kind to me. I would love to stay and chat but--"

"GO! Go! Enjoy your date! I won't keep you any longer!"

Enjolras couldn't see them, but hear two doors close and a shuffle of feet. Grantaire sighed and placed the paper bag on the floor. He began to clear off the table and counters. He wiped things down and then paused for a moment, as if he wasn't breathing the entire time he was cleaning. Enjolras quietly walked over to Grantaire.

"I am so sorry about that. She tends to jump to conclusions more often than she should."

"It's okay, but are you okay?" Enjolras made a face all to familiar.

"I am okay. I am okay." Grantaire shook his head.

"I can deal with the turkey. I think you should lie down or something. It's just. This isn't like you. You're less--"

"Competent?"

"Suave. I was going to say suave."

"You thought I was suave? Me?" Grantaire smiled through his headache.

"Don't make me regret telling you." Enjolras rolled his eyes and helped Grantaire to the couch where he drifted off to sleep, only to wake in the future with the smell of turkey drifting in the air. He stumbled into the kitchen, hair lopsided and dazed, to find Enjolras putting the last plate on the table.

"God, I must be dreaming. Enjolras, in my house, with a turkey that isn't the same color as my coffee? Unthinkable." He gave a crooked grin.

"I promise it tastes good, although you didn't have much to work with." Enjolras smiled, but noticed Grantaire's smile falter in the slightest.

"I hope you're right. I don't want my neighbors to get freaked out that someone poisoned me."

Enjolras laughed a little, "Your boyfriend, you mean?" He took a sip of water, "I hope you don't mind, I poured you some water. I couldn't find any alcohol or even any soda. I know you and Eponine are fans, but um..."

"I quit."

"You...quit?" Enjolras tilted his head, letting his hair fall off of his shoulders.

"Yeah. It's been about a year. I actually had my last drink yesterday, but it seems as though the effects haven't fully worn off."

"That's amazing. I am surprised."

"This is amazing. Wow. I think Courf would be impressed."

"Thank you," Enjolras grinned.

Grantaire mirrored him and raised his glass, "To surprises worth being thankful for."

Enjolras clicked their glasses together, "To a new day."

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't gone on a rant about politics or the awful holiday in which we are celebrating at this current moment, despite being French."

Enjolras' smile faded and he put down his fork. "I've ruined their lives, Grantaire. I have ruined everyone's lives and yours as well. Everything I ever believed in just fell apart at the seams. My bad luck isn't just today. No, it happened ever since I fucked everyone's lives over."

Grantaire stood up and made his way over to Enjolras. He knelt on his knees and brought him into a hug. "You didn't fuck over our lives. We did that ourselves. Everyone lost something that day and knew the cost. Most of us ended up this way because we were arrested and needed to bail ourselves out. I mean, Jehan went to prison before all of us, for Christ's sake! We all knew the cost and paid it. None of us regret it. Not Eponine. Not Gavroche. Not even me. This is not up for debate. You did nothing wrong except blame yourself."

"I feel like they all hate me," Enjolras buried his head in the nook of Grantaire's neck and shoulder.

"You forgot the turkey. And hey, if you didn't do that, I don't think I ever would have seen you again or even had this amazing meal."

"Stop trying to make me feel better." he mumbled.

"Stop trying to make yourself feel worse." Grantaire sighed.

Enjolras hugged him a little closer. "Combeferre was right."

"What?"

"He said he thinks we need each other more than we want to believe and I am starting to think he is right."

"Funny, Eponine kept telling me the same thing. Except, she also kept telling me I had to go to you to work things out, not that you would come to me." 

Enjolras lifted his head off of Grantaire and looked at him with glossy blue eyes, "Maybe they have a point."

"Maybe they do," Grantaire whispered and leaned in.

Enjolras was the one who took away the space between them, not to mention Grantaire's breathe. He wasn't thinking, only feeling the motions of what felt right and ever since Grantaire sacrificed everything to stand by Enjolras when he needed someone the most, Enjolras was at a loss of thought. For Grantaire, all he gained was clarity, but even clarity can lead a person lost.

Grantaire suddenly broke away, leaving the two of them gasping for air. "Does...Does this mean my neighbor predicted this?"

Enjolras smirked, "You haven't asked me out yet."

"Well," Grantaire mused, "I did ask you to dinner--"

"But you said it wasn't like a date or anything."

"And you did kiss me rather--"

"Oh, shut up and kiss me again," Enjolras leaned down and wrapped his arms around Grantaire, only he fell as well. The two laid on the cold linoleum floor, laughing brightly while their food grew cold.

"I love you," Grantaire said, a moment of feeling utterly breathless while staring up at Enjolras.

"I love you too," Enjolras whispered, face full of euphoria.

Grantaire brought Enjolras' head down and kissed him full on the lips for what seemed like forever.

"Oh my god. This is not what I...at least not in the fucking kitchen." Eponine's voice scowled above them.

"IS THIS WHY YOU WEREN'T AT DINNER?" Gavroche shouted.

Grantaire looked up at Eponine and grinned ear to ear. She just shook her head.

"You're lucky we're going to go sleep over Cosette's." She turned to Gavroche, "Go get your stuff quickly."

"Heard dinner was fun," Enjolras sat up lazily.

"It's the best fun we have all year. Sorry your car broke down. You might want to text your roommates because they were getting quite concerned. Oh, finally. Later!" She made a hasty exit, one much too quick for the two men on the floor.

"We should probably finish dinner and then..." Enjolras used his chair to climb his way into normal standing posture.

"Wouldn't be a date without food, now wouldn't it." Grantaire grabbed his hand and stood up. The two of them grinned rather lamely as they sat back down and ate dinner, having a legitimate excuse to never take their eyes off of each other.

Enjolras hated thanksgiving, but he finally found something worth being more than thankful for.

 


End file.
